We undertook some survey work for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in Aberdeenshire. Both projects were commissioned to use 3D laser scanning to extract additional information from heavily weathered Ogham inscriptions and, in the process, we also clarified the interpretation of a Pictish symbol.

The two sites in question were the Pictish cross slab located in Fordoun and the Lang Stane of Auquhollie, near Stonehaven.

The slab at Fordoun features an inscription on the top-left corner and also two putative Ogham inscriptions, one down each side. All three inscriptions were scanned at extremely high resolution to help establish their meaning.

The Lang Stane was also completely scanned with extremely high resolution scanning used on the long Ogham inscription down one arris and on a section of the stone thought to feature two Pictish “double-disc” symbols. After visualisation, it was determined that the two symbols were in fact a single lobed “rectangle” symbol.

Fordoun Pictish Cross Slab

Lang Stane of Auquhollie Pictish symbol